Violence against women and girls

Justice and Home Affairs Department Business Plan

The 2025 Business Plan for Justice and Home Affairs sets out 11 objectives –

1. Continue to have oversight of activity in relation to the impact of the major incidents in 2022 and 2023, ensuring that our teams are continuing to support the recovery & resilience phase

2. Ensure the States of Jersey Ambulance Service (SoJAS) is resourced to adequately meet pre-hospital care demand and to comply with modern, professional standards

3. Ensure the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service is resourced to adequately manage risks to public and firefighter safety working with the Cabinet Office (Policy)

4. Maintain a Customs and Immigration function which delivers for Jersey

5. Foster a culture focused on a rehabilitative model to reduce reoffending by providing prisoners with the right interventions, education and environment whilst in prison

6. Continue to develop the existing Emergency Services Control Centre, focusing on speed, accuracy, compliance and resilience in the Ambulance and Fire and Rescue call handling, mobilising and incident support functions

7. Continue to evolve and implement the Building a Safer Community framework (BASC)

8. Developing and delivering a modern and effective youth justice policy by reviewing the findings of the previous youth justice reviews and the latest available evidence of effective practice, working with CYPES and other agencies

9. Responding to the findings and recommendations of the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce, initiating work to improve women’s safety and experience of the criminal justice system – supporting the Cabinet Office (Policy)

10. Reforming legislation – working with the Cabinet Office (Policy)

11. Improving value for money, the performance of services and effectiveness of governance working with the Cabinet Office (People), Treasury & Exchequer (Finance Business Partners) and Employment Social Security and Housing (ESSH)

Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce Report

On 9 November 2023 the Jersey Independent Taskforce on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) published its report. The work of Task Force is best described in the Taskforce reports page of the Government website. The page includes the full report of the task force It’s a hidden problem – the issue of violence against women and girls in Jersey, a summary report, a media toolkit and a number of research reports.

The Government press release announcing the publication of the report said –

This comprehensive report is a result of in-depth research, bringing together the experiences of victim-survivors, young people, professionals, and the broader public in Jersey to shed light on a critical issue, many aspects of which have long remained in the shadows. It represents a significant milestone in Jersey's commitment to addressing violence against women and girls.

The VAWG Taskforce is made up of a diverse range of stakeholders who all hold a key role in addressing violence against women and girls in Jersey. It includes representatives from specialist support services, criminal justice, health and social care, education, and community support services.

The Taskforce has revealed alarming statistics and testimony from victim-survivors, young people and the general public that demands immediate attention.

Nearly all respondents to the public survey reported having experienced at least one form of sexual harassment in their lifetime. One in four respondents had undergone the ordeal of rape or attempted rape.

The Independent Chair of the Taskforce, Kate Wright said: "This report is a shocking revelation of the extent and nature of violence experienced by women and girls in Jersey. I wish to thank those brave victim-survivors who have endured painful abuse and trauma yet chose to share their experiences to help us understand and confront these serious issues head-on.

“It is testament to the courage of our daughters, sisters, mothers, partners, friends, and colleagues who have endured unthinkable violence, abuse, harassment or been failed by our systems that should have protected them. By giving a voice to their experiences, we hope to spark a wave of change that will lead to real and lasting transformation."

The report exposes significant gaps in Jersey's current legislation which make it more difficult for the criminal justice system to protect victim-survivors and effectively manage perpetrators.

It underscores the necessity of independent reviews of Jersey’s criminal justice system and family court to build transparency and accountability.

The Taskforce has laid out clear and specific recommendations for change, including the need to address immigration policies that can compound the violence experienced by women who have not resided on the Island for five years.

It also highlights the urgent need for specialist counselling support for victim-survivors, which is currently extremely limited and detrimental to their long-term recovery.

In instances where these recommendations are not adopted, the Taskforce insists on a public explanation for this inaction, along with alternative proposals for action.

Such transparency is crucial for building public trust and confidence in the commitment of Jersey's institutions to tackling violence against women and girls.

Kate Wright added: "The findings of this report are a wake-up call to issues that affect many women and girls and that we can no longer ignore. As a community, we have a moral obligation to address these issues swiftly and decisively. To achieve the aims of the Taskforce, it was essential that the voices of women and girls should be at the centre of our work and that these voices were listened to without prejudice.

“Women and girls deserve to feel safe no matter where they are, whether that be at their place of education or at work, in public spaces, at home or online. However, the Taskforce’s research shows that this is not the reality for many women and girls in Jersey.”

The report represents the beginning of a much larger piece of work to address the issues of violence against women and girls in Jersey and prioritise the safety of women and girls across the Island.

The report outlined 77 recommendations to tackle the identified issues. Of these, 58 recommendations were directed at the Government of Jersey, while 19 targeted other key partners.

Government response to Taskforce Report

The Chief Minister accepted all recommendations directed at Government.

In March 2024, as part of a broader programme to address VAWG in Jersey, the Government committed to publishing annual updates on progress toward implementing all 77 recommendations.

The first annual progress report was published in June 2025. This reported that 27 of the recommendations were completed or required no further action, 42 were “in progress”, eight had not been started and six were “awaiting reporting”.

Review of the criminal justice system

One of the recommendations was that “An independent review of the Jersey criminal justice system should be conducted in relation to domestic abuse, rape, and serious sexual offences to determine whether current arrangements deliver the best outcomes for victims, defendants, and justice.” The Government duly commissioned a review from Eleanor Laws KC. The Laws Review was published on 11 February 2026.

The executive review of the review is set out below –

2.1 This Review provided a unique opportunity to meet and interview victim-survivors and work collaboratively with other stakeholders in the Jersey criminal justice system such as the States of Jersey Police, the Law Officers Department (Criminal Division) and victim support services in order to identify which aspects of the system work well, those which require improvement and then co-develop solutions, make recommendations and actively monitor progress.

2.2 My meetings with victim-survivors were particularly informative. Their lived experiences were invaluable when formulating my findings and recommendations. I had the benefit of active engagement from each of the stakeholders. Jersey is fortunate to have experienced professionals working in all stakeholder bodies.

2.3 There have been great improvements in the Jersey criminal justice system in the last ten years, some of which appear unique to Jersey and work extremely well. However, there are some clear areas where further improvements are required. In summary, victim-survivors expressed that they had experienced:

• Delay in connection with most aspects of the system, including the case reaching trial.
• Confusion and/or uncertainty in respect of the decisions made by prosecuting authorities, the progress of cases and their role.
• Frustration, fear and anxiety in relation to instances of unwanted contact from the accused during the investigation and over-zealous cross- examination by defence advocates.

2.4 As a result of my meetings with organisational stakeholders, I identified five areas which required improvement:

(1) Training;

(2) Communication between stakeholders;

(3) Law and guidance;

(4) Court infrastructure and capacity; and

(5) Data collection and retention.

2.5 This Review details 18 specific recommendations and indicates the considerable level of engagement and progress made to date. In addition, I have also included a recommendation that a further Review be undertaken in 2027 to monitor progress.

The specific recommendations are listed below (SoJP = States of Jersey Police; LOD = Law Officers Department; JDAS = Jersey Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Support; RASSO = Rape and serious sexual assault.)

1 Mandatory vulnerable witness training (funded by the GoJ) for professionals working within the criminal justice system, to be completed every three years.

2 SoJP and LOD to –

- Agree a joint Rasso Action Plan 2026

- Agree a joint approach to the adoption of Operation Soteria

- Agree a joint Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) regarding the provision of file submissions, early advice, timetable and level of engagement.

3 SoJP to ensure that all relevant material relating to the question of bail is provided to the LOD before a charging decision is made.

4 Criminal Justice Working Group to produce and publish on the gov.je website a revised Victim and Witness Charter.

5 SoJP, LOD and JDAS to revise RASSO/domestic abuse information booklet for complainants/victim-survivors.

6 SoJP (following discussion with a complainant, JDAS and FREEDA) to identify a single point of contact for the complainant throughout their interaction with the criminal justice system.

7 LOD (Criminal Division) to produce and publish comprehensive Charging Guidance for offences relevant to this review including domestic abuse and sexual offences.

8 LOD to write to and offer to meet victim-survivors to explain decisions to NFA, discontinue, offer no evidence or withdraw charges.

9 LOD and SoJP to convene NFA Scrutiny Panels to review cases which resulted in no further action etc. and convene structured Case Review Meetings with other stakeholders

10 GoJ of Jersey to work with the Bailiff to increase Royal Court capacity.

11 Early and effective case management of RASSO and domestic abuse cases.

12 Monitor the use of special measures and by Q2 of 2027, review whether to recommend that vulnerable witnesses be automatically entitled to special measures.

13 Prosecution Advocate to be given the opportunity by the court to meet complainants immediately after giving evidence.

14 Victims to be permitted to read Personal Statements at the sentencing hearing.

15 Monitor sentencing in RASSO and domestic abuse cases and by Q2 of 2027, review whether to recommend the introduction of Jersey Sentencing Guidelines

16 States Assembly to re-consider the question of re-trials when a jury cannot reach a majority decision, or when compelling fresh evidence emerges post- conviction.

17 Criminal Justice Working Group to collate and publish data for charging, NFA and convictions for relevant offences.

18 Independent Review of the Compensation Injuries Scheme.

19 Monitor progress and report by Q2 2027.

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